[CA.NEWS.YAHOO] A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by former MF Global customers to depose the collapsed brokerage's former chief, Jon Corzine.

In a written ruling in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Judge Martin Glenn said the Commodity Customer Coalition, which had sought permission to question Corzine and other former MF Global insiders, lacked standing because it is not a direct creditor in the case.

The coalition, a grassroots group led by reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,...-based commodities trader James Koutoulas, bills itself as representing the interests of thousands of traders whose accounts at MF Global were frozen when the company went under.

But the coalition itself is merely a "'watchdog' entity with its own independent goals," hoping to depose Corzine "in furtherance of its own interests" rather than those of the MF Global estate, Glenn said in his decision.

Koutoulas, reached by phone on Tuesday, dismissed that reasoning as "the most minute technicality imaginable.

"I could have filed 10,000 versions of the motion, one on behalf of each customer we represent," Koutoulas said, adding that the coalition is considering appealing the decision.

MF Global went bankrupt in October 2011 after its heavy exposure to European sovereign debt spooked investors. The case has become a political firestorm as Sherlocks in Congress and elsewhere try to identify the source of an estimated $1.6 billion hole in customer trading accounts.

Most commodities customers have recovered about 80 percent of the value of their accounts through payouts by James Giddens, the trustee in charge of finding as much of the money as possible and liquidating MF's broker-dealer unit.

Giddens last month announced a key settlement with MF Global affiliates that is expected to raise those payouts even higher.

The coalition has said Corzine should face criminal charges for his role in the company's fall, though the exact nature of that role has been unclear. Many officials, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, have been investigating the case and have spoken to MF Global executives.

[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] House Democrats say President Barack ObamaI inhaled. That was the point... should consider invoking a little-known constitutional provision that they say gives him the power to raise the debt ceiling without going through Congress, where Republicans are demanding that a debt ceiling vote be linked to spending cuts.

The Democrats said in a letter that they would support the use of any authority, including the 14th Amendment, to prevent the nation from going into default, an event that some economists predict could trigger a global recession.

That post-Civil War amendment contains a section stating that "the validity of the public debt of the United States...shall not be questioned."

We're not questioning it, we're saying no more. The debt service can be paid without a problem. It does mean we'd have to forego a few fripperies...

As of Wednesday 21 Democrats, led by Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, had signed the letter.

Raising the federal borrowing limit is now subject to congressional approval, which traditionally has come with relatively little resistance. But in July 2011 Republicans tied their vote on the debt ceiling to concessions on spending, generating a confrontation with the B.O. regime and resulting in the first-ever ratings downgrade of the nation's credit-worthiness.

#1
"When I see that the right and means of absolute command are conferred on a people or upon a king, upon an aristocracy or a democracy, a monarchy or republic, I recognize the germ of tyranny, and I journey onwards to a land of more helpful institutions." Alexis de Tocqueville, 1 DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, at 250 [Arlington House (1965)].

#5
I honestly don't understand Leftoid thinking regarding spending. There was a thread on another board about the Texas budget surplus. Nothing but vicious, pointless, excoriating attacks -- because a state has extra money. I can't even begin to fathom why the Left would regard extra money as hateful, but there it is.

#11
It will take US$16.4Trilyuhn, as per the soon-to-be-passe' current official US Debt Limit, for the US just to par, i.e. reach a balanced budget of 0.00 Revenues = 0.00 Debts, + minima another US$5-10.0Trilyuhn just to put something noticeable = positive real, whole numer in the Accounting-Budget heiroglyphics that Archeo-Economists, Budgeteers will read in 2050.

[BREITBART] In the wake of the financial meltdown, President Barack ObamaI mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... derided Wall Street bonuses as "obscene," calling them examples of "fat cats who are getting awarded for their failure."

But now, Mr. Obama has announced that he will nominate as his next Treasury secretary Jack Lew, a man who in 2009 bagged a $950,000 bonus after his bank, Citigroup...contributed $736,771 to the 2008 Obama campaign... , received billions in a taxpayer-funded bailout.

Mr. Lew is the former chief operating officer of Citigroup's Alternative Investments unit--a group that bet billions against homeowners paying their mortgages.

As the Huffington Post reported in 2010, during Mr. Lew's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director confirmation, "neither the Senate's Budget Committee nor its Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee bothered to ask a single question about Lew's tenure at Citigroup, transcripts of the proceedings show."

#1
"neither the Senate's Budget Committee nor its Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee bothered to ask a single question about Lew's tenure at Citigroup, transcripts of the proceedings show."

Question only arise from the Senate when billons and trillions are discussed. And then, only polite questions.

Obama has shown a penchant for making bold Cabinet choices in areas he is personally comfortable with or has a passion for  such as foreign policy  while taking the line of least interference on the financial sector and delegating most decisions to Geithner... More tellingly, Obama, by all evidence, is not unhappy with the financial status quo. The president clearly has other issues he wants to spend his political capital on: a deficit-reduction deal, gun control, immigration reform. And Obama seems fairly satisfied with what Geithner has wrought... [Jeff Connaughton, who as a senior Senate staffer fought for financial reform] calls Obamas view financially illiterate, and hes right.

#4
In the wake of the financial meltdown, President Barack Obama
("I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money"...)
derided Wall Street bonuses as "obscene," calling them examples of "fat cats who are getting awarded for their failure."

That is, of course, unless the bonus recipients kicked back a fair amount to Obama's re-election campaign. Then they go from being fat cats to candidates for cabinet level positions in the administration.

[WEEKLY STANDARD] "The president is going to act," said Biden, giving some comments to the press before a meeting with victims of gun violence. "There are executives orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action that we believe is required."

Biden said that this is a moral issue and that "it's critically important that we act."

Biden talked also about taking responsible action. "As the president said, if you're actions result in only saving one life, they're worth taking. But I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly."

#1
When the police wear military style attire; drones are used to conduct domestic monitoring of citizens; the army is quietly given the power to detain without warrant or trial; and Federal Law Enforcement is on the scene at nearly every major crime;.... you have entered in a POLICE STATE!

#3
Biden, the guy with the unconnected laughter and pin-ball eyes during the debates, is the front guy; the guy who could easily be mistaken for the Aurora shooter. Just needs the orange plugs. This is the administration that trafficked in illegal firearms with the drug cartels in Mexico and the Syrian rebels? It is now about 4 months and we still have had no transparency on Benghazi. They expect the American people to take them seriously or trust them.

#5
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage "

§ 4. Individual right to bear arms; armies. A person has the right to keep
and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful
hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose ; but
standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not
be tolerated, and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.''

Your post reminds me of a good interpretation of the 2nd Amendment -- something I have never really seen before.

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Means:

"We recognize that the government must maintain armed police and troops, but we are also concerned about the government potentially abusing its arms, so we hereby guarantee the right of all US citizens to keep and bear arms as a bulwark against such abuse."

I like this modern day interpretation of the framers' words -- it doesn't ignore the militia part or render it redundant, and the framers did not waste words.

#9
lblis:
That amendment was re-worded from a statement similar to how we know the US 2nd into this language in 2010 by 86% voting. The counter-grumbling was that why can't a militia peacably meet and practice so long as laws were obeyed. It does add in the In Times of Peace.

En similar, h/t weaselzipper, there is a proposed law in Wyoming threatening arrest of any federal agent attempting any gun control. Looked it up, WY's Constitution Sec. 37 states the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land, citing the 10th and the 2nd as making such a proposal lawful under the state Constitution.

#4
...Is this the same Andrew Cuomo, who in 1998 as Sec of HUD under Clinton, threatened banks to give mortgages to those who couldn't afford to pay them back or the government would take action against the bank ??

#5
Pass an unconstitutional law that gets slapped down by courts. There was a day when that sort of posturing would ruin your career. Now intent and feelings are more important than yanking everyones chain and embarrasing oneself.

[HOUSTON.CULTUREMAP] Now that the space shuttle program has been relegated to history, NASA is holding something of a going-out-of-business sale to distribute its Kennedy Space Center effects -- although even the most avid space enthusiasts may not find these up-for-grabs items appealing.

NASA says "proposals should be space-related, though the agency will consider alternative uses under certain circumstances."

As the Orlando Sentinel reports, the list of pieces for use, lease or outright purchase includes a shuttle launch pad, space in the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building or a 15,000-foot landing strip.

NASA needs to transfer these items -- and fast -- before federal maintenance funding runs out at the end of 2013. Officials worry that the facilities and machinery will deteriorate and rust in the Cape Canaveral environment without upkeep.

The space agency has been quietly receiving bids and proposals from commercial space companies and the public-private space agency Space Florida for the items, and Joyce Riquelme, NASA's director of KSC planning and development, expects that the first deals should start coming together within the next six months.

#1
If they're looking to unload that Saturn V out in front of the Johnson Space Center, maybe we can work a deal. That baby would look mighty fine sitting out in front of the house up on cinder blocks.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.